Would you buy a house now there is a Covid-19 pandemic?

chrisnewbeginnings

I've been officially looking since January. Current rental 6 month lease ends 31 Jul.

Would you buy a house now? Do I continue renting ?

MovingForwards

I am.

It's personal choice, I've had enough of being in a rental and want my own home.

diggingdude

How secure is your job

captaindough

I am in the process of buying. Application has been accepted, I have no idea what will happen but fear purchasing this property for a price that was at a recent peak that could cost considerably less in months to come...this throwing me into a negative equity situation.

I am by no means an expert on the economy and housing market so apologies in advance if my fear is not warranted. 

I was too young to fully understand the ‘great recession’ of 10 to 15 years ago, I think poor lending criteria played a fairly big part in that hence the effect it had on the property market. Will this crisis have a similar effect?

NewShadow

I might hesitate if I were trying to buy AND sell or if I were an investor... but as a FTB there's little risk as far as I see it. 

- House prices short term shouldn't matter if you're buying a 'home', as houses don't make great short term investments anyway... 

- A mortgage offer is valid for a set period of something like three months - and the Government are doing a lot to reassure lenders/encourage them to be generous with their attitude to customers - so as long as you make sure you have a valid offer and don't exchange if it's going to expire before completion, you can buy the place.

- Most landlords won't complain if you need to stay an extra couple of weeks due to a delay - as long as you communicate proactively and pay them...  

The only issue I can see is if you're in an insecure industry/job... at which point you'll need to make a judgement as to the Government's reassurances of protections for businesses/people who have a sudden reduced income or to wait it out and see. 

My job is rock solid but, even if things were a little more shaky, I'd probably still move as planned - but that's me and my situation - my attitude would likely be very different if I was a travel agent... 

Crashy_Time

captaindough said:

I am in the process of buying. Application has been accepted, I have no idea what will happen but fear purchasing this property for a price that was at a recent peak that could cost considerably less in months to come...this throwing me into a negative equity situation.

I am by no means an expert on the economy and housing market so apologies in advance if my fear is not warranted. 

I was too young to fully understand the ‘great recession’ of 10 to 15 years ago, I think poor lending criteria played a fairly big part in that hence the effect it had on the property market. Will this crisis have a similar effect?

This crisis is worse in that central banks can print all the money they want, but unless people feel safe going out and spending they won`t borrow, last time around the public were gagging for more debt and there was nothing stopping them from lapping it up, this time if you buy from someone at bubble prices you will be holding the bag if (when) it goes pear shaped. At the moment people seem obsessed with clearing all the toilet roll, water and bread from shops and using up all the online supermarket delivery slots for the next month or so, they won`t be too fussed about houses until this is over.

captaindough

Crashy_Time said:

captaindough said:

I am in the process of buying. Application has been accepted, I have no idea what will happen but fear purchasing this property for a price that was at a recent peak that could cost considerably less in months to come...this throwing me into a negative equity situation.

I am by no means an expert on the economy and housing market so apologies in advance if my fear is not warranted. 

I was too young to fully understand the ‘great recession’ of 10 to 15 years ago, I think poor lending criteria played a fairly big part in that hence the effect it had on the property market. Will this crisis have a similar effect?

This crisis is worse in that central banks can print all the money they want, but unless people feel safe going out and spending they won`t borrow, last time around the public were gagging for more debt and there was nothing stopping them from lapping it up, this time if you buy from someone at bubble prices you will be holding the bag if (when) it goes pear shaped. At the moment people seem obsessed with clearing all the toilet roll, water and bread from shops and using up all the online supermarket delivery slots for the next month or so, they won`t be too fussed about houses until this is over.

I’m not sure what your trying to say? 

NewShadow

captaindough said:

Crashy_Time said:

captaindough said:

I am in the process of buying. Application has been accepted, I have no idea what will happen but fear purchasing this property for a price that was at a recent peak that could cost considerably less in months to come...this throwing me into a negative equity situation.

I am by no means an expert on the economy and housing market so apologies in advance if my fear is not warranted. 

I was too young to fully understand the ‘great recession’ of 10 to 15 years ago, I think poor lending criteria played a fairly big part in that hence the effect it had on the property market. Will this crisis have a similar effect?

This crisis is worse in that central banks can print all the money they want, but unless people feel safe going out and spending they won`t borrow, last time around the public were gagging for more debt and there was nothing stopping them from lapping it up, this time if you buy from someone at bubble prices you will be holding the bag if (when) it goes pear shaped. At the moment people seem obsessed with clearing all the toilet roll, water and bread from shops and using up all the online supermarket delivery slots for the next month or so, they won`t be too fussed about houses until this is over.

I’m not sure what your trying to say? 

Nothing new nor accurate... 

graphs

No. This is the peak of the bubble.

Mr_P_

We've had an offer on ours which we're close to accepting, my worry is it's a FTB and the house is cheap... I have this worrying feeling this person could be out of a job during the sale process
With that said, a really cheap house has come on the market which is perfect and needs work, we're probably going to go for that just out of safety.

hippocrates1

I’m a doctor so I’m probably one of the most employable people right now and I’m holding off. All the delays and stresses of things being shut down and the probability of negative equity. Not worth the hassle.